Conveyer truck



NOV. 24, 1936. c, 3 LARQQN Y 2,061,735

CONVEYER TRUCK Filed July 18, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet l 7 IIIIIIl/l INVENTOR.

Clas Siarson ATTORNEY.

c. s. LARSON I 2,061,735

CONVEYER TRUCK Nov. 24, 1936.

Filed July 18, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. Clas 5. Larson ATTORNEY.

Patented Nov. 24, 1936 PATENT OFFICE CONVEYER- TRUCK Clas S. Larson, Milwaukee, Wis., assignor to A. 0.

Smith Corporation, Milwaukee, Wis., a corporation of New York Application July 18,1935, Serial No. 31,988

5 Claims.

This invention relates toa conveyer truck and more particularly to a truck adapted. to convey pipe or other heavy articles while suspended throughan enameling machine such as that set 5 forth in the joint application of the present in ventor with Walter A. Kuebler, Serial No. 34,513 filed-August 3, 1935.

One object of the invention is to provide a truck adapted to convey a section of pipe or other 10 article while suspended through a circuit at different levels and to be elevated and lowered between different track levels without substantial interruption in movement.

Another object. is to provide a truck with means 15 for rotatin the article suspended therefrom so as to present all sides equally for treatment when passing through treating chambers.

Another object is to provide such a truck with means for starting or stopping rotation of the article at. predetermined points in the conveyer path circuit.

Another object is to provide such a truck with means for quick attachment and detachment of the articlev being suspended therefrom and for safely retaining the article in position during. the required circuit of the conveyer.

Another object is to provide means, for positively driving the trucks forward at different conveyor levels and for quickly detaching the same from the driving means for elevation or lowering.

Other objects will appear hereinafter in connection with the description of the preferred embodiment illustrated in the accompanying draw- 35 ings, in which:

Figure 1 is aside elevation of the truck; Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1; v

Fig. 3 is a horizontal transverse section on 40 line 3-3 of Fig. 1 showing the holder approaching the truck seat;

Fig. 4 is a topplan view of the truck; Fig. 5 is a vertical section. on line 55 of Fig. 2; Fig. 6 is avertical section on line 66 of Fig. 2; 5 and Fig. '7 illustrates the means for driving the truck forward.

The truck has a horizontal somewhat T-shaped main body I. and a depending casing 2 bolted thereto.

The body I comprises a casting having suitable strengthening ribs 3 at the top and bottom. It is supported upon the rails 4 by means of three wheels 5 at the ends of the body. Two of 55 the wheels Ba e m u ted at the lar er endof the body on shafts 6 suitably journaled in the castring I and are sufficiently spaced apart to keep the truck in desired horizontal position on the rails. One wheel 5 is mounted at the other end of the body on a shaft I which rotates, in a bear- 5 ing 8 at the end of the body.

The shaft I extends to the central portion of the body I and rotates in a bearing 9 near its inner end. A bevel gear III is secured to the inner end of the shaft I for the purpose hereinafter 10 described.

The truck is adapted to follow the rails in a closed circuit path, and by employing only a three wheel support the truck may follow a curved or circular path with ease. The drive for the truck, as illustrated in Fig. 7, is adapted to permit raising or lowering of the truck between different track levels. r

The trucks are driven by means of, lugs II formed as parts of the ribs 3 on the top of the body I. Additional lugs I2 and I3 are provided at the ends of the body at the top and bottom, respectively, to provide for driving in difierent portions of the conveyer circuit where the main drive chain does not operate. As many lugs may be employed and they may be positioned as found suitable to meet the requirements of the particular conveyer system, the system for which the preferred embodiment was designed requires three different drives and consequently three different lug positions.

In operation, a plurality of trucks are mounted in succession upon the rails 4 and are driven by a chain I4 which follows the path of the rails and which has a plurality of driving hooks I5 depending therefrom in engagement with the lugs I I of the respective trucks. When the trucks are lowered to a lower track level, as shown in Fig. 2, chains I6 are provided adjacent the rails 4 with hooks IT for engaging the lugs I3 on the underside of the body I. Where the truck is to be lowered from a conveyer, the chains are placedabove the truck and the hooks engage lugs II or I2. Where the truck is to be raised, the chains are placed below the truck and the hooks engage lugs I3. This arrangement permits the raising or lowering of the trucks as the case may be without interfering with the chains and also permits ready disengagement of the lugs from their respective driving hooks.

The depending casing 2 hangs from the central portion of the body I and comprises a casting having two side plates I8 provided with suitable external strengthening ribs and webs I9. The plates I8 are joined at the upper end and in the center by internal webs 20 forming bearings for supporting a vertical shaft 2| for rotation within the casing.

The vertical shaft 2| is splined at its upper end to a bevel gear 22 which meshes with the bevel gear In. The lower end of the shaft 2| is provided with a clutch member 23 adapted to engage a complementary clutch member 24 on the upper end of the holder 25 for the article to be conveyed. The engagement and disengagement of the clutch members 23 and 24 is effected by lowering or raising of the shaft 2| in the casing. In Fig. 2, the shaft 2| is shown in its upper position and the clutch members are shown disengaged.

For the purpose of raising and lowering the shaft 2| at predetermined points in the conveyer circuit, the shaft is provided with a fixed flange or collar 25 and a bearing collar 21 therebeneath, as shown in Fig. 2. A double link 28 connects the collar 21 to a double crank 29 on the horizontal stub shaft 30 pivoted in bearings 3| in the side plates IS. The shaft 30 is offset from the center of the casing 2 so as not to interfere with shaft 2|, and the link 28 and crank 29 are double so as to operate on opposite sides of the shaft 2| without interfering with the latter.

The shaft 30 is rotated by means of a lever arm 32 secured thereto at the outer end of the shaft. The lever 32 has rollers 33 and 34 at its opposite ends for engaging fixed operating blocks 35 and 36, respectively, for operating the lever. The lever 32 is shown in Fig. 1 just after it has engaged block 35 during the movement of the truck and raised the shaft 2| and disengaged the clutch members. After roller 33 leaves block 35, the shaft 2| will stay in raised position by reason of the position of the link 28 and crank 29, the pivotal connection therebetween being moved past the dead center line of the crank. The lever 32 is stopped in its movement ateither extreme by a stop member 31 thereon which engages one of the ribs I9 as illustrated in Fig. 1.

As the truck progresses along the conveyer circuit and reaches a point Where it is again desirable to rotate the article, the roller 34 engages the block 36 and the lever arm 32 is moved to the left until the stop 31 engages the central rib l9 and the roller 34 rides beneath the block 36. This effects rotation of the crank 29 and lowering of the clutch member 23 into engagement with the clutch member 24. The lever arm 32 and rollers 33 and 34 then assume the position shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1. The block 36 is also shown in dotted lines in this figure since it will be understood that it is located at a greater distance from the block 35 than that illustrated.

The blocks 35 and 36 are conveniently supported in the path of the rollers by angle irons 38 secured to the supporting structure 39 for the rails 4, as shown in Fig. 2.

The article holder 25 comprises a depending rod from which the article may be suspended in any suitable manner, and has a head 40 upon the top of which the clutch member 24 is secured. The holder 25 is supported by the casing 2 as illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. For this purpose, the lower end of the casing 2 is bifurcated to provide a slot 4| through which the holder 25 can pass laterally. Beveled guides 42 are provided for the entrance of the holder rod into the slot and beveled guides 43 are provided for the entrance of the head 4|] into the space between the side plates l8. As the holder 25 enters the slot 4| from the forward side and reaches the center of the casing 2, the holder is lowered, thereby lowering the head 40 into a pocket or seat 44 provided at the lower end of the casing 2. The seat 44 preferably constitutes a flat shoulder on the casing plates which engages the flat underside of the head 40. In order to guide the head 40 to its seat, the casing plates are provided with a beveled portion 45 surrounding the seat and extending upwardly and outwardly therefrom. This insures that the head 40 of the holder will be properly centered with respect to the seat 44 and casing 2.

In order to remove the holder 25 from the casing 2 and release the article from the truck, the holder is raised out of the seat and moved laterally out of the slot 4| in the casing 2. The slot 4| preferably extends in the direction of travel of the truck, and the truck may be continuously moved forward while the loading and unloading operations are performed, or, as in the preferred embodiment, the trucks are lowered by an elevator to the unloading position and are then transferred to another elevator for loading, the lowering effecting the desired. displacement of the head from the seat and the raising effecting the desired seating of the head. A suitable loading and unloading apparatus is illustrated in my copending application, Serial No. 673,952, filed June 2, 1933.

Various embodiments may be made within the scope of the invention as set forth in the accompanying claims.

I claim:

1. In a conveyer truck, a depending hanger having a slotted seat at its lower end for receiving the head of an element to be suspended therefrom, a rotatable shaft having means thereon adapted to engage said head to rotate the same, and means for driving said rotatable shaft in synchronism with the forward movement of said truck.

2. In a conveyer truck supported by wheels, a depending hanger having a slotted seat at its lower end for receiving the head of an element to be suspended therefrom, a rotatable shaft having means thereon adapted to engage said head to rotate the same, and means connecting a wheel supporting the truck with said shaft to effect rotation of the latter.

3. In a conveyer truck supported by wheels, at

depending hanger having a slotted seat at its lower end for receiving the head of an element to be suspended therefrom, a rotatable shaft having means thereon adapted to engage said head to rotate the same, means connecting a wheel supporting the truck with said shaft to effect rotation of the latter, .and means for disengaging said rotating shaft from said head.

4. In combination, a conveyer truck supported by wheels, a hanger depending therefrom and. having a slotted seat at its lower end for receiving the head of an element to be suspended therefrom, a rotatable shaft having means thereon adapted to engage said head to rotate the same, means connecting a wheel supporting the truck with said shaft to effect rotation of the latter, means for disengaging said rotating shaft from said head, and means disposed along the path of said truck for operating said last named means to effect rotation of said suspended element in a predetermined part of the conveyer circuit.

5. A conveyer truck adapted to be moved through a horizontal path at different levels and gaging with driving means for moving the truck horizontally at the lower level, said means permitting freedom of transfer of said truck along vertical lines between said levels.

CLAS S. LARSON. 

